Video tape is a really powerful medium. Seeing something for yourself is 10,000x greater than reading another’s account of an event. This is a cautionary tale.

Yesterday, Andrew Breitbart of ACORN tape fame released a short video of USDA official Shirley Sherrod speaking to a NAACP group. The tape appeared to show Ms. Sherrod discussing how she had refused to help a white farmer facing foreclosure because he was white (in 1986).

“What he didn’t know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was, I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him,” she said. “I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough.”

SHERROD: Well, working with him made me see that it’s really about those who have versus those who don’t.

AUDIENCE: That’s right.

SHERROD: You know, and they could be black, and they could be white, they could be Hispanic. And it made me realize then that I needed to work to help poor people — those who don’t have access the way others have.

I want to just share something with you and I think it helps to — you know, when I learned this, I’m like, oh, my goodness. You know, back in the late 17th and 18th century, black — there were black indentured servants and white indentured servants, and they all would work for seven years and get their freedom. And they didn’t see any difference in each other — nobody worried about skin color. They married each other. You know, these were poor whites and poor blacks in the same boat, except they were slaves, but they were both slaves and both had their opportunity to work out on the slavery.

But then they started looking at the injustices that they faced and started then trying — you know, the people with money — you know, they started — the poor whites and poor blacks — they — you know, they married each other. They lived together. They were just like we would be. And they started looking at what was happening to them and decided we need to do something about it — you know, about this. Well, the people with money, the elite, decided, hey, we need to do something here to divide them.

So that’s when they made black people servants for life. That’s when the put laws in place forbidding them to marry each other. That’s when they created the racism that we know of today. They did it to keep us divided. And they — it started working so well, they said, gosh, looks like we’ve come up on something here that can last generations — and here we are. Over 400 years later, and it’s still working. What we have to do is get that out of our heads. There is no difference between us.

The only difference is that the folks with money want to stay in power and whether it’s health care or whatever it is, they’ll do what they need to do to keep that power.

Instead of this story being a heartwarming story of a devoted public servant and her many years of public service we now have a story of vicious racism and public slander. Shame, shame on Tom VilsacK, the Obama administration and the NAACP for falling for shameless manipulative liar Andrew Breitbart. Shame on the media for continuing the smear on Ms. Sherrod. Have they learned nothing from the ACORN tapes? Obviously they haven’t.

Yes, I’m furious at the administration and the NAACP for caving to rightwing pressure. This means that there will still be huge incentives for wingnuts to keep doing this. But let’s keep things in perspective. Andrew Breitbart and all his wannabes think nothing of ruining someone’s life simply based on race. Shirley Sherrod was targeted because she is African-American. Breitbart’s single-mindedness is that African-Americans are the real racists and white men are the real victims. They push stories like the New Black Panthers and now Shirley Sherrod to prove (in their own minds) that all African-Americans hate white people = Obama hates white people. It’s disgusting and incredibly harmful.

This story absolutely crystallizes the modern conservative movement. The racism. The casual willingness to lie & cheat. The ability to play the mass media for the suckers they are, and the smug knowledge that Democrats will fold like creased slacks.

Also, Shirley Sherrod needs to sue the shit out of Andrew Breitbart. I’m no lawyer, but she must have a case.

They need to be held accountable. The wing-nut does not understand morality if it is dealing with people that look different from it. If wingnuts are can keep doing this stuff without some sort of consequence, they will keep doing it.

That said, anything that happens to Breitbart will just be labeled as race-based and called an attack on his freedom of speech by his fellow ‘bagz. Just like black women have been keeping white men down for hundreds of years.

1) Given that the NAACP had the original tape, why did they pile on if what Shirley Sherrod said was really innocuous? Is it because they were too lazy to review the tape in their own possession? Or is it because they decided to reverse course only after the liberal lap-dog media decided to give Shirley Sherrod the victim treatment instead of the villain treatment they would have given a whit eman in the same situation?

2) Given that Ben Jealous was apparently present when the speech was made (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF4U9qd38p8 at 45 second mark), why did Jealous need to review the tape and how could he have been “snookered” unless he is really incompetent?

Jonathan Turley on whether Sherrod can sue Breitbart. He says she can sue for “false light” and “defamation.” Breitbart’s defense would be that he was trying to show crowd reaction. However, taking it out of context (what’s the crowd reaction to her reveal?) could hurt him I think. I don’t agree with all that Turley says here but here’s the ending:

Of course, if Sherrod were to sue, she would likely make it past initial motions to dismiss and could secure embarrassing discovery in the case, including possible internal emails and communications on the purpose of the editing and release of the video.

I think it is safe to assume that they’ll burn out some shredders and torch some hard drives tonight at Breitbart’s. Under discovery everything related to the case comes out. The thought of that POS being sued makes me so happy.

I’m personally waiting for one of those talking heads from FOX that ripped Ms Sherrod apart to apologize
the right wing spin – (and O’Reilly’s no-spin zone – LOL)boy oh boy – their heads where whirling like Linda Blairs in the Exorcist!!
the NAACP apologized – as they should have:
I’m waiting for the rest that demonized her to do the same

however – the White House can now stand on their decision to NOT treat FOX as a news org but only as a “media outlet”

She is a government official who was giving a speech in that capacity talking about her conduct in administering a government program. NY Times v. Sullivan would lead to immediate dismissal unless they could present evidence at the start that Breitbart knowingly presented a falsehood — and since Sherrod did admit to engaging in racial discrimination and the audience did react approvingly, she cannot make that showing REGARDLESS of what else is on that tape and REGARDLESS of her later claim that some of her best friends are white.

Actually, MJ, that isn’t quite true. There is the issue of firings that are against public policy — if Barack Obama decided to fire a Jewish employee because he/she was a Jew, there would be a case.

And besides, you liberals went all apeshit over the firing of such at-will political appointees (US attorneys) by George W. Bush, so you can’t just claim that the actions of this administration are OK.

look at Observer hyperventilate that a deceptive wing-nut will be held accountable for his actions. I guess the right’s hard-on for “personal responsibility” only extends as far as it doesn’t negatively affect white people.

well, the facts as the Right wing chooses to see them, points to 200 years of oppressed white men at the hands of evil powerful black women. Poor guy (Breitbart) is just trying to get a small ammount of justice for all the suffering. he’s a hero.

My comment at 10:10 has a link to Turley’s piece. The case is against Breitbart. He thinks it would get to discovery.

Observer you’re also wrong about the facts. She didn’t admit to not doing her job. She said she did what was necessary and then found out that the lawyer was screwing them and she helped them further. Read the transcript and watch the full video.

But you’ll never guess who emerged as the villains of the story in this second-day conservative react. Not Andrew Breitbart, the distributor of a falsified tape. No, the villains were President Obama and the NAACP for believing Breitbart’s falsehood.

Breitbart went almost universally unmentioned. Erickson even justified Breitbart’s falsehood as a tragic but necessary and justifiable measure of conservative self-defense

…

There will be no apology or statement of regret for distributing a doctored tape to defame and destroy someone. There will be not even a flutter of interest among conservatives in discussing Breitbart’s role. By the morning of July 21, the Fox & Friends morning show could devote a segment to the Sherrod case without so much as a mention of Breitbart’s role. The central fact of the Sherrod story has been edited out of the conservative narrative, just as it was edited out of the tape itself.

When people talk of the “closing of the conservative mind” this is what they mean: not that conservatives are more narrow-minded than other people — everybody can be narrow minded — but that conservatives have a unique capacity to ignore unwelcome fact.

Observer – please don’t preach Federal government personnel rules and regulations to me. I work for the agency that sets these rules (in fact, I’ve drafted many of them during my career). She wasn’t forced to resign because she was black. As for the US Attorneys, those firings were purely political moves (their failure to prosecute Democrats) that were in violation of 5 USC 2302.

let the biblical connections of a blind prophet begin. .. as a human i feel bad for the guy… but knowing what he does and who his audience is, i feel worse for the world because of how this will be used to get ratings and start revolutions.

Thanks for that link anon. That is the conclusive link between Fox “News”, Beck and wingnut violence that we’ve all suspected would be made clear at some point. Luckily this one did not end in massive bloodshed, but it sounds like it easily could have.

Listening to the right wing one might assume that this tape was done while in her current job. The fact that Breitbart EDITED the tape, delivered same to Sham Hannity, followed by Oreilly gave the story legs. (Just like Acorn).It has been quoted White House had Faux News on and heard the edited version. Why hasn’t Faux News been taken to task for not confirming the content before Sham went on air? Or Orielly? It just proves Faux news really is fake news. I have not heard the NAACP had a “copy” of a 24 year old tape? The NAACP discovered the mistake when an NAACP person in Georgia called and informed they had it all wrong. Sherrod has been an NAACP member and a civil rights leader for decades.

Rick Jenson who lies like a rug, never mentioned on his program anything about the fake news of Breitbart or Sham or Oiley spilling this fake story? This morning Faux News is now blaming the Obama administration for acting hastily in the request for Sherrod to turn in her resignation. So Faux once busted took that opportunity to blame Obama for a false story they put out? The White House and Congress need to turn the Faux News channel OFF, and tend to the business of the majority of Americans, rather than REact to anything on Faux!
Jenson also read a list today of reasons why “democrats” are fed up with Obama. Listed was yet another outright lie, that democrats are mad because the Obama Attorney General didnt take the 3 black panthers to court. See Jenson is either ignorant of facts or he is a outright liar. That story was debunked a wk ago, it was the BUSH AG’s office that didnt pursue three people in Phila. claiming to be Black Panthers. I guess Jenson wonders why no one calls his show. Perhaps Rick your playing with words, and half truths in spite of the facts has caught up with you and no one trusts you anymore.

this keeps getting more and more disgusting. It appears the Obama admin is afraid of Fake News and the right wing media. Faux is now able to force the government to make whatever racist horrible ratings-getting decision it wants.
Keith had a very good special comment last night on the matter.

We can not let the Right wing continue to hijack this country. This story is just another grain of truth that the droves of excrement that claims to be the more God loving more Patriotic side of america is only interested in their own money and protecting the power hold of white people. It is un american, it is evil and we can never let these people re-gain control of this country.

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